But this can only be done, just as the change of night into day is done, or as the darkness is lost in the light.――Something as contrary to the whole nature of sin, as light is to darkness, and as powerful over it, as the light is powerful over darkness, can alone do this.――Creeds, canons, articles of religion, stately churches, learned priests, singing, preaching, and praying in the best contrived form of words can no more raise a dead sinner into a living saint, than a _fine system_ of light and colours can change the night into day.
On this ground it is that the apostle said, _Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing_; and on the same ground it must be said, that Popery is nothing, and Protestantism is nothing, because all is nothing, as to salvation, but a sinner changed into a saint, or the apostle’s new creature.
Many are the _marks_ which the learned have given us of the true church; but be that as it will, no man, whether learned or unlearned, can have any proof of his own _true church-membership_, but his being dead unto all sin, and alive unto all righteousness.――This cannot be more plainly told us, than in these words of our Lord, _He that committeth sin, is the servant of sin_; but surely that servant of sin, cannot at the same time be a living member of Christ’s body.――To suppose a man born again, yet under a necessity of continuing to sin, is as absurd as to suppose, that the true Christian is only to have so much of the nature of Christ, as is consistent with Satan’s still dwelling in him.――_If the Son_, saith Christ, _shall make you free, then ye shall be free indeed_. What is this, but saying, if Christ is in you, a true freedom from all necessity of sinning is given you. Now if this cannot come to pass in the faithful follower of Christ, it must be, because both the willing and working of Christ in man, is too weak to overcome that which the devil willeth and worketh in him.――All this absurdity, and even blasphemy, is necessarily implied in that common doctrine of books and pulpits, that the Christian can never have done sinning, as long as he lives.
*Preachers and writers comfort the half Christians with telling them, that God _requireth not_ a perfect, sinless obedience, but _accepteth_ the sincerity of our weak endeavours instead of it. Here, if ever, the _blind lead the blind_. For St. _Paul_ comparing the way of salvation to a _race_, saith, _In a race all run, but ONE obtaineth the prize: so run that ye may obtain_. Now if _Paul_ had seeing eyes, must not they be blind, who teach, that God accepteth of all _that run_ in the religious race, _and requireth not_ that any should _obtain_ the prize. How easy was it to see, that the sincerity of our weak endeavours, was quite a different thing from that, which alone is, and can be the _required_ perfection of our lives? The first, God accepteth, that is, beareth with. But why or how? Not because he seeketh or _requireth_ no more, but he beareth with them, because, though at a great distance from, they are making towards the perfection, or new creature, which he _absolutely requires_, which is the _fullness of the stature of Christ_, and is that which _Paul_ saith, is the ONE that obtaineth the prize.
*The pleader against perfection farther supports himself by saying, no man in the world, Christ excepted, was ever without sin. And so say I too; and with the apostle I also add, _That if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar_. But then it is as true to say, that we make _him a liar_, if we deny the possibility of our ever being freed from a necessity of sinning. For the same word of God saith, _If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins_, and _to cleanse us from all unrighteousness_.
*But surely he that is under a necessity of sinning, as long as he lives, can no more be said to be cleansed from _all unrighteousness_, than a man who must be a cripple to his dying day, can be said to be cured of _all his lameness_. What weaker conclusion can well be made, than to infer, that because Christ was the only man, that was born and lived free from sin, therefore no man on earth can be raised to a freedom from sinning; no better than concluding, that because our _Redeemer_ could not find us any thing but _sinners_, therefore he must of all necessity leave us _sinners_.